1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lower structure of a vehicle body rear part of a vehicle provided with a spare tire housing formed on a rear floor.
2. Description of Related Art
In a common vehicle, a spare tire housing for housing a spare tire is provided at a rear floor in a vehicle body rear part. For the vehicle having such a structure, when a load is applied from the vehicle rear, the spare tire moves toward the vehicle front, and accordingly the spare tire housing may be deformed and may move to the vehicle front. In particular, since a fuel tank is disposed in front of the spare tire housing, the deformed spare tire housing may unfavorably contact with the fuel tank.
In such a case, countermeasures are conceivable such that the load is absorbed by the surroundings of the spare tire housing by securing a sufficient space between the spare tire housing and a back panel. Also, in the case in which the fuel tank is disposed in front of the spare tire housing, countermeasures are conceivable such that the load is absorbed by the surroundings of the spare tire housing by securing a sufficient distance between the spare tire housing and the fuel tank.
On the other hand, a space for arranging parts other than the spare tire housing and fuel tank must also be secured, and many restrictions are placed on the layout of vehicle body parts. Therefore, the space in the rear of the spare tire housing, the distance between the spare tire housing and the fuel tank, and the like cannot be secured sufficiently in many cases. Also, if an attempt is made to sufficiently secure the space in the rear of the spare tire housing, the distance between the spare tire housing and the fuel tank, and the like, there arises a problem of increased size of vehicle body, which poses a serious problem especially in the case of a compact car.
Furthermore, a rear seat is disposed on the front upper side of the spare tire housing, and when a load is applied from the vehicle rear, the spare tire may move to the front upper side. In this case, there arises a problem that the spare tire contacts with the rear seat.
Therefore, in the structure disclosed in, for example, JP 09-2336 A, to avoid the contact of the deformed spare tire housing with the fuel tank, the spare tire is housed in the state in which the front side of the spare tire is raised from the installation position of the fuel tank to tilt the spare tire.
Also, in the structure disclosed in JP 2006-88740 A, to avoid the contact of the deformed spare tire housing with the fuel tank and to prevent the front end of the spare tire from contacting with the rear seat, the spare tire is housed in a state in which the rear side of the spare tire is raised from the installation position of the fuel tank to tilt the spare tire, and also a hook reinforcing member for a traction hook, extending in the vehicle longitudinal direction, is provided at a central position in the vehicle width direction on the lower surface of the spare tire housing. In this case, when a load is applied from the vehicle rear, the deformation of the spare tire housing is restrained.
Furthermore, in the structure disclosed in JP 2009-179181 A, the configuration is such that the spare tire is tiltingly disposed in the spare tire housing in a state of being tilted forward, and the rear portion of spare tire is jumped up with the front portion thereof being the center and is turned in the longitudinal direction toward the vehicle front when a load is applied from the vehicle rear. Therefore, the load applied to the front structures by the front end of the spare tire is reduced.
However, in the case of only the structure such that the spare tire is housed in the state in which the front side of the spare tire is raised from the installation position of the fuel tank to tilt the spare tire as in JP 09-2336 A, the spare tire moves easily toward the front upper side when a load is applied from the vehicle rear. Therefore, the spare tire may still contact with the rear seat.
Also, in the case of the structure such that the hook reinforcing member extending in the vehicle longitudinal direction is provided on the lower surface of the spare tire housing as in JP 2006-88740 A, there arises a problem that the deformation and movement of the spare tire housing cannot be restrained sufficiently.
Furthermore, in the case of the structure such that the spare tire is housed in the spare tire housing in the state in which the rear side of spare tire is raised and the front side of spare tire is tilted downward as in JP 2009-179181 A, there arises a problem that if the tilt is increased for sufficient turning in the longitudinal direction, the vertical dimension of a luggage space decreases, and also there arises a problem that it is difficult to promote the jumping-up of the rear part of the spare tire.